


Possible risk

by two2ducks



Series: 30 day writing challenge [13]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mystery, Non Idol AU, i think so, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23742250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/two2ducks/pseuds/two2ducks
Summary: Day 14: Come and dance with me.The door creaks as it opens, Taeil doesn’t look up at first, pretending to be busy with the patients folder. He is greeted with the usual Hello and he gives one back, his voice a little bit too harsh. “Come, sit.” Taeil straightens in his chair and motions to the chair in the opposite side of the desk. He freezes in the seat, when he recognizes the newcomers face.What  does he want from Taeil?
Relationships: Kim Jungwoo/Moon Taeil
Series: 30 day writing challenge [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675693
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Possible risk

Taeil wakes up, this morning with an alarm. Strangely enough, he doesn’t remember setting one before going to sleep. Just to add to the confusion – it doesn’t seem like it is the start of the day, judging by the view outside of the window, it’s midday in the best case. He thinks… it’s Sunday today, probably, _yeah,_ why wouldn’t it be the weekend?

He gets out of the bed, starts off with the usual coffee and breakfast, brushes his teeth before, waits until the drink cools down and the after taste of the toothpaste is gone. A cat comes in the kitchen and constantly gets in Taeils way as he moves around the free space. He wants to cuss at it, but as he opens his mouth, Taeil has to stop. What is the cats name?

“Feather!” It comes to him after a few seconds, leaving Taeil quite dumbfounded. He quickly brushes it off and continues with the meal. Feeling good, he decides to give himself the luxury of eating in the living room instead of the usual kitchen table.

All the dishes quickly find their way to the low table by the sofa, Taeil taking an extra walk after the cup of coffee. He sits down, on the brown sofa, running his hand on it’s surface, feeling the material under his fingers. _It’s a good material._ Taeil turns on the TV, a channel blasting loud, club music. It takes him aback, he doesn’t recall listening to such songs yesterday.

Something is off today.

Taeil changes the music to a movie he hasn’t seen, the title doesn’t matter – it is in the middle already. He doesn’t watch the TV anyway, uses it only for some background noise. Strangely, he notices the time only when his phone lights up next to the mug, he reaches for it, but in the last moment choose the handle of the cup instead.

Then, the doorbell rings. Taeil sighs in defeat, letting the mug go of his grip. He hurriedly goes to the door, reaching for the keys on the shelf as he asks, “Who’s there?”

All the other person answers is “It’s me!”

Taeil trusts the voice immediately, even though he can’t tell who is on the other side of the door. The door unlocks easily, he presses the handle down and is ready to greet the familiar face. A man, smiling, looks at him through the narrow door opening. Taeil automatically smiles back, he has seen the man plenty of times, definitely, they’re friends without a second guess. Yet, the name never comes to him.

He opens the door wider and wider, moving to the side a little bit to let the newcomer in. The phone in the living room starts to ring. For a moment his eyes leave the familiar man, but when Taeil turns back, his eyes go to the knife the other is holding in front of him. It’s long and probably sharper than the ones he has in the kitchen. He looks in the mans eyes and feels as the sharp tip rips through his skin.

-

Taeil wakes up from a nightmare panting, covered in sweat. He notices the change of his pyjamas – he’s wearing wide pants and no shirt. It’s a strange choice, but he doesn’t dwell on it. His roommate is still sleeping, so Taeil is careful when he steps out of the bed. The light in the bathroom burns his eyes, but he needs to wash his face at least. Taeil lets the cool water run on his hands as he checks himself out in the mirror. The bleached hair doesn’t look as good anymore now that it has grown out. He has been thinking whether it is worth bleaching again, maybe dying it back to brown would be easier, cutting it would be good too.

Taeil goes back to sleep, waking up only when his alarm rings, indicating that his first lecture of the day starts in half an hour. He goes through the usual morning routine - sleep some more, brush teeth, get dressed, pack his bag and catch the bus that arrives at the university at the exact same time as the lectures start.

It’s higher mathematics, something he would like to skip completely, but the lecturer’s strict _and_ Taeil is friends with a few people there, who always save him a chair near them. And so it is this morning – Taeil is greeted with two smirking faces. They chat a little bit through the lecture, his mind more drifting to the fantasies about the breakfast he is going to have after this. He believes that if he reads the books over and over, he’ll catch up on the theme, so listening to whatever is happening in front of all the students isn’t his priority.

Soon, they are bidding goodbyes. His friends go to different lectures, while he has a couple of hours free now. As Taeil makes his way to the restrooms, he thinks about the places he could have a meal this morning, settling with the tearoom not far from the campus. He steps inside the smaller room and immediately notices that he isn’t alone here. Taeil goes to take a spot by one of the sinks in front of the dirty mirror. Right hand quickly finds the side pocket of his backpack filled with his medication. A bottle of pills and eye drops specifically made for him are pulled out.

Taeil throws a pair of pills in his mouth and lets salvia gather in his mouth, while he leans closer to the mirror with a pipet in his hand. With one finger he pulls down the under-eye skin to get a better access, but right before he lets the liquid drop, someone walks out of the stall. Taeil recalls the face in a flash, it’s the man from his dreams or the student a few years younger than him. They know each other, though, they have met each other at a few house parties – they share a friend or two.

The younger smiles and greets Taeil cheerfully, “G’moring!”

Taeil needs a moment to realise that the other doesn’t know about his dream, “Hey.” The pills on his tongue making it hard to speak. He exhales deeply and turns back to the eye drops as the other starts to wash his hands, one sink between them. The small droplet burns his eye a little bit, but Taeil has gotten quite used to it. He pumps in more of the liquid, someone else walks inside the room. He doesn’t pay any attention to it, until he is greeted again.

“Hey, Taeil!” It’s a guy, whom, usually, he would meet in the next lecture. They are unassigned seatmates to keep it short.

Yet again, the pills float around his mouth, “Hey.”

The newcomer comes to stand between him and the younger student, “Seems though,” Taeil chuckles, making the other smile too, another droplet reaches his eye “You’re free now, right?” The elder hums approvingly, “Can you bring me something to eat?”

“Sure,” Taeil finally swallows the pills loudly, “just text me.” He shots a smile to his friend and receives one back as the other starts to move towards the stalls. Taeil gets to screwing shut the small bottles, with a loud thud a thin door closes behind him.

“Taeil?” Suddenly, there is a voice too close to him, the called man recognizes it as the younger one by the other sink, but now he is standing right next to him. Taeil lifts his head up in a question, only being able to get a quick glance of the other before there is a hand behind his head. With a full force, his skull is sent against the firm surface of the mirror, he can feel how the glass cuts through his forehead.

-

Taeil wakes up in a chair, his hand immediately checks his forehead – there’s nothing wrong with it. He turns around in his big office chair, checking if he is the only one in his office, forgetting about shame and checking even under the table. Alone, he is alone.

He checks the time on his watch, only two more hours left until he can go home. The past weeks have been stressful, especially now, that one of the other doctors has fallen sick and he has to accept double the patients than he is used to. The second break of today was used for Taeil to take a short nap, he isn’t sure if it was worth it.

There are multiple folders, filled with information about patients he has yet to get familiar with. Taeil rubs his eyes to clear his vision, there are a few minutes left of his break, he decides to spend it in a useful way. He takes the folder on the very top and opens it carefully, not to let anything fall out of it. Only after squinting he can understand the other doctors handwriting, the next patients name is written very wide, all over the thin line – _Kim Jungwoo_. Back problems - to sum it all up, the thought makes Taeils own back get hit with a pang of pain. He stretches as much as it is possible in the limited space, his bones unpleasantly crack.  
Taeil continues to try and make out the letters on the multiple sheets of paper until his assistant comes in to ask if he is ready to get on with the last few people sitting outside. Taeil gives her a tired smile and a nod. She’s a nice, pretty girl, using the chance to practise for her studies at his facility. She smiles back at Taeil, making him wonder if she sometimes thinks about him after the work hours, too.

Taeil can hear how she asks for a Kim Jungwoo. Taeil pats his cheeks and runs his fingers through his short locks of hair, scratching his scalp.

The door creaks as it opens, Taeil doesn’t look up at first, pretending to be busy with the patients folder. He is greeted with the usual _Hello_ and he gives one back, his voice a little bit too harsh. “Come, sit.” Taeil straightens in his chair and motions to the chair in the opposite side of the desk. He freezes in the seat, when he recognizes the newcomers face. It’s the man from his dream, his dreams. The other, Jungwoo, gladly takes the offered seat, yet it is a little bit awkward. Taeil stares at him, his body reacting not welcomingly, he expects Jungwoo to understand who he is, but nothing happens, they just sit in silence.

Taeil clears his throat and starts with asking multiple questions, Jungwoo answers, trying to explain as much as possible, the older can’t be convinced. They just talk about the patients problems at first, Taeil tries his best to stay professional and not let his suspicions get to him. With one eye he checks their surroundings, there are tons of possible murder weapons, they’re in a doctors office after all.

A few minutes in and they have to move to the plastic bed. Jungwoo slowly takes off his shirt, while Taeil puts on a clean pair of gloves, not letting himself to leave the patient out of the sight. Jungwoo straightens when the doctor starts to press around his back muscles and bones, moves around his arms. This time, he seems quite _normal_ , not like a threat, just like the other times. Taeil thinks he has the upper hand in this situation. Jungwoo grunts and whines as he continues to do his work. Taeil asks some more questions, the atmosphere more relaxed, but then their conversation is interrupted by his assistant. She rushes from the entrance door to the small room where Taeil is with Jungwoo, hurriedly announcing that another doctor in the city has just announced that they’re closing their office.

Taeil sighs, that means more and more patients for him _and_ to his assistant, “Are you still down with working extra hours? Y’know, I can get you a colleague.” He continues to push around the skin around Jungwoos spine.

She shakes her head, “No, no,” her tone calming, “it’s alright. You’re not _that_ bad to work with.” Taeil sends her a glare, making them both laugh. “Okay, sorry for bothering.” She rushes away immediately.

Taeil turns his attention back to Jungwoos back upbeat, asks another question while applying pressure right under his nape. Instead of an answer there’s silence, too long. Taeils arms drop by his sides and he automatically takes a step back, Jungwoo gets up and the doctors heart rate speeds up. The patient is taller than him, when he stands straight right in front of him, Taeil says that they should go back to the main room to discuss some more treatments. Jungwoo nods, getting his shirt from the bed. Taeil dares to exit the room first, perhaps, leave the main room too.

All it took was two steps with leaving the familiar patient out of his sight, when a needle was pushed inside his neck.

-

Taeil wakes up and doesn’t move. The mattress has deflated yet again, it feels like he’s sleeping on the very ground. He can make out the silhouettes of mosquitoes crawling on top of the outside of his tent. Someone starts to snore next to Taeil, making him jump in fear, in the dark he recognizes the face of his boyfriend, the bright blue hair giving it all away. They both dyed it while drunk, now it doesn’t come out. Taeil lies back down on the rocky ground, even if the summer this year is fantastic, camping isn’t one of his favourite activities.

He tries to fall back asleep, writing off the dream to the strange dreams you have while drunk. Taeil tosses and turns, trying to find a comfortable position to rest again, but all what comes is the need to pee. He tries to ignore the feeling until it becomes too much, Taeil shakes off the others leg from his own and slowly crawls out of the tent into the dark. A branch digs into his palm and makes the man wince in pain. There is no sound coming from the other tents, some of the coal is still red in the bonfire.

Taeil pats the ground, searching for his shoes, the moon gives some light, but not quite enough. He lazily puts the pair on and goes a few metres behind their camp to relieve himself. Once Taeils done, he thinks about the pros and cons of going to the lake to wash his hands. With a sigh, he gives up and drags his legs towards the water source. Somebody earlier said that it is dangerous to put up their tents this close to a lake in the forest, apparently, wild animals come here to drink and swim.

He gets as close as possible, making sure he, still a little bit drunk, wouldn’t slip into the water. Taeils knees crack as he squats down completely, the water is still lukewarm from the heated day. He plays around a little bit, swaying his hands from one side to the other, enjoying the way the liquid moves around his skin.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Taeil now knows the voice clearly. He immediately takes out his hands and tries to take a step away from the person, falling down in the process.   
He isn’t sure what to do, does he scream? Does he asks questions? Does he try to run away? Instead he stills. And stares at Jungwoos face, trying to figure out how he will do it this time. “Taeil? You alright?” The younger tries to come closer, even extends his hand, but Taeil only moves further away. “Still drunk?”

Somewhere deep, Taeil finds the courage to speak up, his voice trembling a little, “Go to sleep.” Jungwoo only chuckles, making panic start to rise in the other.

“I’m not letting you stay outside,” Jungwoo takes a step closer again and all Taeil can do is mutter a _no_ , “Come one, lets get you back.” As Jungwoo bends down, what seems like, getting ready to pick the elder up.

“Taeil?” Suddenly, the familiar voice of his lover calls for him, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Taeil looks away from Jungwoos bent form, waves a hand, so his boyfriend would know which form is his.

“Come back?”

Taeil thinks about jumping up and running back to their shared tent, then he thinks about how bad wold it be to put them both in a dangerous situation, “In a minute.” Somewhere form afar he hears an _okay_.

Jungwoos hand barely touches Taeils knee, the elders legs automatically kick it off and then it starts. If only Taeil hasn’t fallen down, then there wouldn’t be a hand covering his mouth. If only he would have stayed inside the tent, Jungwoo wouldn’t be pushing his head underneath the water.

-

Taeil wakes up next to a toilet. Resting on his hand, which is resting on someones knees, probably, owned by the same person who is currently holding a cold washcloth on his forehead. The disgusting aftertaste indicates that the reason for him being here is most definitely vomiting. He remembers about the suit he rented especially for this night. The after-party is still at its high, it’s a wedding after all, once in a lifetime, right? Not his wedding though, could have been. It was strange already when his best-friend announced that he is dating Taeils ex-girlfriend, but when he received the wedding invitation – that was something else. He didn’t know about him going or not until his best friend was almost on their knees, begging for Taeil to be his best-man. Don’t get him wrong, Taeil loved the idea of being such an important part of his friends special day, but the catch was that Taeil was sure he won’t ever find such an amazing girlfriend as his friends upcoming wife. He used to say that she was the best thing that has ever happened to him, and it is still true. Taeil doesn’t dwell on the idea of her cheating on him with his friend, he doesn’t want to, it makes him sick, his stomach literally rumbles.

“Feeling sick again?”

The tone of the voice cuts through Taeils ears, his eyes get watery in a second. Not only had he watch the love of his life get married to his _fucking_ best friend, but Jungwoo also is here. Taeil knew they both are here, but why all of the people who are here, it has to be exactly him, that finds Taeil barely moving. He sniffles and one of the hands comes to wipe his dry lips. He thinks about getting angry, about shouting and screaming, kicking and punching, he wouldn’t mind letting it all out on Jungwoo.

But there’s no energy left in him, so Taeil just rests on Jungwoos knees, letting the tears roll down over the bridge of his nose and his cheek as he stares at the wall in front of him. Taeil doesn’t want to admit it, but it feels nice how the other is taking care of him, that someone finally sees that no, he actually isn’t okay with them both getting married. An accidental sobs leaves his body, surprising himself. The towel is removed from his forehead, instead Jungwoo starts to rub his free shoulder, “Taeil, everything’s going to be alright.” The words do more damage than good, it won’t get better anytime soon, Taeil knows it. “Are you feeling better?”

The elder thinks about it, physically yes, he does feel better, “Yeah,” Taeil drags, “a little.”

The hand moves up to his shoulder and nape, massaging it ever so lightly, “Good,” Jungwoo whispers with a sigh, “that’s good.” After a minute or two of pure silence, only the sound of music and cheers filling the room, Jungwoo speaks up again, “Do you want to leave?”

“No,” Taeil shoots back instantly, “I can’t. It’s – it’s their special night, I can’t just… _leave_.” He sniffles again, slightly wishing there was a tissue in his hand.

The other sighs, their breath hitting Taeils ear, “They… they didn’t do the right thing, like,” Taeil feels how Jungwoos fingers get rougher with his skin, “I get it, but… it wasn’t fair to you.” Taeil chuckles, he thinks about if life has ever been fair to him, even now he is trapped with a man who is nothing but a threat. “Okay, if you don’t want to leave, then come and dance with me.”

Taeil doesn’t dismiss the idea, his best-friend is probably gone with the woman he still adores, people outside are just as drunk as he was before he emptied his stomach, plus, he deserves some actual fun, even if it means dancing with Jungwoo.

So, Taeil finds himself barely moving at the very corner of the improvised dance floor, arms draped over Jungwoos shoulders, that and the others arms around his waist being the only things that are holding him up. All he can see is the floor and the sleeve of Jungwoos blue suit jacket, Taeils head is rested under the tallers chin, his red hair is probably tingling the other.

Jungwoo is the one in charge of taking tiny steps in order to move them in a circle, they definitely are missing the rhythm of every song that has been played since they got back here, but Taeil couldn’t care less. He just tries to follow what the other is doing, deeply down waiting to be stabbed in the back.

“When will you kill me?”

Taeil hears rumbling underneath Jungwoos chest as the younger suddenly laughs, Taeil doesn’t know if it means good or bad, he just closes his eyes and hopes for the best.  
“Why would I do that?”

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaaa im so tired of isolation  
> i miss hanging out with my friends so much! 
> 
> sleep well!


End file.
